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That Nest in Birdhouses70birds
That Nest in BirdhousesDowny Woodpecker
Order: Piciformes
Family: Picidae
Genus: Picoides
Species: pubescens
Gr. pikos woodpecker
La. picus woodpecker
La. -idae appearance, resemblance
Gr. Circe mythological daughter of Helios, changed Picus, son of Saturn, into a woodpecker
La. forma form, shape, kind
La. -oides resembling
iLa. pubescens pubescent coming to puberty, hairy (for their stiff bristles around the nostrils)
Smallest and tamest of the woodpeckers. Six or seven inches long. White chin, throat and underside.
Black crown, black and white streaks leading back from the beak across the side of the head and red patch in the back of the male’s head. Black and white back and black wings with white bars.
Widespread and abundant. Year around residents throughout the lower 50 states except the arid south west, from lower and coastal Alaska, throughout most of Canada below 60 degrees north latitude, lower Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland.
You can hear the typical short drum rolls in woodpecker country when downy and other woodpeckers often test wood conditions, possibly signaling, maybe even on the side of your house early in the morning.
Downy woodpeckers occasionally emit a call resembling the metallic ring of a hammer contacting a chisel.
The painting by R. Bruce Horsfall shows the difference between sizes of the two downy woodpeckers and the larger hairy woodpecker, often mistaken for the former.
Note the much shorter bill of downy woodpeckers compared to hairy woodpeckers and also compared to sizes of their heads.
They forage for insects, berries and seeds on the branches of low trees, hedges, and brush heaps.
They like suet, sunflower seeds, nuts and mealworms and visit feeders in cold winters.
They are social birds, often seen foraging in the company of other species including chickadees, nuthatches and titmice.
Plant mountain ash, blackberry, red cedar, Virginia creeper, dogwood, elderberry, sour gum, juneberry, mulberry, pokeberry, sumac and viburnum.
Downy Woodpeckers excavate their own cavities usually in partially decayed trees in deciduous and mixed forests, apple orchards, groves, farms, country homes and towns.
They are common most anywhere there are trees, even in suburbs and cities and may be attracted to correctly sized and well placed birdhouses.
Females lay three to five, more or less, white eggs. Young hatch after less than two weeks incubation and leave the nest in about another three weeks.
The downy woodpecker birdhouse (same as for some of the chickadees, titmice and nuthatches), can be constructed with most any softwood that is rough cut on both sides.
It has a 4″ by 4″ floor, 9″ inside ceiling, 1 1/4″ diameter entrance hole located 7″ above the floor, ventilation openings, and a hinged roof secured with shutter hooks.
Although most any method of attaching and securing a roof will do as long as it can be removed for monitoring and cleaning.
Assemble with corrosion resistant screws fit to pre-drilled pilot holes.
For downy woodpeckers, mount this nest box on a tree trunk from about eye level to just out of reach, higher if it draws attention.
Chickadee Nuthatch Downy Birdhouse
Chickadee Nuthatch Titmouse Downy Plans
Place a few wood chips, not sawdust, on the nest box floor. Remove the nest after the brood rearing seasons are over.
Downy Woodpecker
Order: Piciformes
Family: Picidae
Genus: Picoides
Species: pubescens
Gr. pikos woodpecker
La. picus woodpecker
La. -idae appearance, resemblance
Gr. Circe mythological daughter of Helios, changed Picus, son of Saturn, into a woodpecker
La. forma form, shape, kind
La. -oides resembling
iLa. pubescens pubescent coming to puberty, hairy (for their stiff bristles around the nostrils)
Smallest and tamest of the woodpeckers. Six or seven inches long. White chin, throat and underside.
Black crown, black and white streaks leading back from the beak across the side of the head and red patch in the back of the male’s head. Black and white back and black wings with white bars.
Downy woodpeckers are widespread and abundant. Year around residents throughout the lower 50 states except the arid south west, from lower and coastal Alaska, throughout most of Canada below 60 degrees north latitude, lower Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland.
You can hear the typical short drum rolls in woodpecker country when downy and other woodpeckers often test wood conditions, possibly signaling, maybe even on the side of your house early in the morning.
Downy woodpeckers occasionally emit a call resembling the metallic ring of a hammer contacting a chisel.
The painting by R. Bruce Horsfall shows the difference between sizes of the two downy woodpeckers and the larger hairy woodpecker, often mistaken for the former.
Note the much shorter bill of downy woodpeckers compared to hairy woodpeckers and also compared to sizes of their heads.
They forage for insects, berries and seeds on the branches of low trees, hedges, and brush heaps.
They like suet, sunflower seeds, nuts and mealworms and visit feeders in cold winters.
They are social birds, often seen foraging in the company of other species including chickadees, nuthatches and titmice.
Plant mountain ash, blackberry, red cedar, Virginia creeper, dogwood, elderberry, sour gum, juneberry, mulberry, pokeberry, sumac and viburnum.
Downy Woodpeckers excavate their own cavities usually in partially decayed trees in deciduous and mixed forests, apple orchards, groves, farms, country homes and towns.
They are common most anywhere there are trees, even in suburbs and cities and may be attracted to correctly sized and well placed birdhouses.
Females lay three to five, more or less, white eggs. Young hatch after less than two weeks incubation and leave the nest in about another three weeks.
The downy woodpecker birdhouse (same as for some of the chickadees, titmice and nuthatches), can be constructed with most any softwood that is rough cut on both sides.
It has a 4″ by 4″ floor, 9″ inside ceiling, 1 1/4″ diameter entrance hole located 7″ above the floor, ventilation openings, and a hinged roof secured with shutter hooks. Although most any method of attaching and securing a roof will do as long as it can be removed for monitoring and cleaning.
Assemble with screws fit to pre-drilled pilot holes.
For downy woodpeckers, mount this nest box on a tree trunk from about eye level to just out of reach, higher if it draws attention.
Place a few wood chips, not sawdust, on the nest box floor. Remove the nest after the brood rearing seasons are over.
Chickadee Nuthatch Downy Birdhouse
Chickadee Nuthatch Titmouse Downy Plans
Downy Woodpecker
Birds | Birdhouses | Plans | Home
Order: Piciformes
Family: Picidae
Genus: Picoides
Species: pubescens
Gr. pikos woodpecker
La. picus woodpecker
La. -idae appearance, resemblance
Gr. Circe mythological daughter of Helios, changed Picus, son of Saturn, into a woodpecker
La. forma form, shape, kind
La. -oides resembling
iLa. pubescens pubescent coming to puberty, hairy (for their stiff bristles around the nostrils)
Smallest and tamest of the woodpeckers. Six or seven inches long. White chin, throat and underside.
Black crown, black and white streaks leading back from the beak across the side of the head and red patch in the back of the male’s head. Black and white back and black wings with white bars.
Widespread and abundant. Year around residents throughout the lower 50 states except the arid south west, from lower and coastal Alaska, throughout most of Canada below 60 degrees north latitude, lower Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland.
You can hear the typical short drum rolls in woodpecker country when downy and other woodpeckers often test wood conditions, possibly signaling, maybe even on the side of your house early in the morning.
Downy woodpeckers occasionally emit a call resembling the metallic ring of a hammer contacting a chisel.
The painting by R. Bruce Horsfall shows the difference between sizes of the two downy woodpeckers and the larger hairy woodpecker, often mistaken for the former. Note the much shorter bill of downy woodpeckers compared to hairy woodpeckers and also compared to sizes of their heads.
They are social birds, often seen foraging in the company of other species including chickadees, nuthatches and titmice.
They forage for insects, berries and seeds on the branches of low trees, hedges, and brush heaps.
They like suet, sunflower seeds, nuts and mealworms and visit feeders in cold winters.
Plant mountain ash, blackberry, red cedar, Virginia creeper, dogwood, elderberry, sour gum, juneberry, mulberry, pokeberry, sumac and viburnum.
Downy Woodpeckers excavate their own cavities usually in partially decayed trees in deciduous and mixed forests, apple orchards, groves, farms, country homes and towns.
They are common most anywhere there are trees, even in suburbs and cities and may be attracted to correctly sized and well placed birdhouses.
Females lay three to five, more or less, white eggs. Young hatch after less than two weeks incubation and leave the nest in about another three weeks.
Chickadee Nuthatch Downy Birdhouse
The downy woodpecker birdhouse (same as for some of the chickadees, titmice and nuthatches), can be constructed with most any softwood that is rough cut on both sides.
It has a 4″ by 4″ floor, 9″ inside ceiling, 1 1/4″ diameter entrance hole located 7″ above the floor, ventilation openings, and a hinged roof secured with shutter hooks.
Chickadee Nuthatch Titmouse Downy Plans
Although most any method of attaching and securing a roof will do as long as it can be removed for monitoring and cleaning.
Assemble with screws fit to pre-drilled pilot holes.
For downy woodpeckers, mount this nest box on a tree trunk from about eye level to just out of reach, higher if it draws attention.
Put a few chips, not sawdust, on the nest box floor. Remove the nest after the brood rearing seasons are over.
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